TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006
Chairman Elaine Anderson convened
the meeting at 9:05 a.m. noting the following attendees:
Members present: Elaine Anderson, Chairman; Howard Burchman: Nancy Jacobsen; Austin Knight: Stephen Milkewicz
Absent CPC Member: Mona Anderson, Bill Dougal (excused absences); Tim Hazel
Other
Attendees: Keith Bergman, Town Manager; Michelle Jarusiewicz, Acting
Assistant Town Manager: Patrick Manning, Executive Director, Housing Authority;
Doug Taylor, Building Commissioner; John Ryan
Recorder: Cynthia Curran
The following are meeting minutes, in
brief:
DISCUSSION: PROJECT UPDATES ON
APPLICATIONS 200601 & 200604
Keith Bergman introduced John Ryan from
Development Cycles in Amherst. He is
the consultant whom the MHP has hired to do a housing market study.
Mr. Bergman said that Truro is having an
assessment done as well. Karen
Sonderberg will be doing the assessment.
He also reported that the Board of Selectmen will be meeting with other
selectmen on the Cape to talk about problems on a regional basis. Mr. Bergman said that teachers and police
cannot afford to live here any more and the EDC has said that affordable housing
is one of the most important issues facing Provincetown. John Ryan said that he had been at the BOS
meeting last night. He wanted to meet
with the CPC to get their input and explain what he is planning to do. Elaine Anderson asked the members to
introduce themselves. John Ryan said
that they were at the beginning of the process and he was trying to learn what
information they were seeking and what their priorities are. Nancy Jacobsen said that low-income housing
is at a critical state, but other economic groups also need help. She wondered what Mr. Ryan’s methods of
analysis are. Mr. Ryan said that he
tries to define the different segments of the town and their housing needs, not
only by economic status but also by other classifications such as age.
Keith Bergman said that it was important
for the CPC members to suggest people whom Mr. Ryan should speak with. He thought that Mr. Ryan should connect with
the two members of the CPC who are realtors.
[They were absent.]
Steve Milkewicz said that being the
representative from the Open Space Committee, he is concerned with preserving
open space as well as the need for housing.
He said another reason that people are forced to leave the town is the
increasing tax costs. Mr. Ryan said
that they had to balance different goals.
They would never be able to provide all the housing needed due to
limited resources. He thought that it
is a shame when a community loses its diversity because people can’t afford to
live there any more. Elaine Anderson
said that they had discussed the different stakeholders at the last meeting
(such as the schools, police and volunteer firefighters). There is a major shortage of affordable
rentals. Howard Burchman said that
since they have limited resources to address the housing problem, they have to
prioritize. He felt that there is a
problem with over-emphasizing rental over home ownership. He wants to provide long-term opportunities
to stay in the community. Mr. Burchman
thought that zoning bylaws should be changed to permit greater density, but
that these would not be passed by Town Meeting without a community education
effort. Mr. Ryan said that they will
not be able to solve all the problems, so must decide which groups will be
helped. They must also consider the
fragility of the environment. Austin
Knight said that he has had discussions with other groups about using the
surplus public buildings for housing rather than selling them. He also thought that change of use laws
could be changed to develop more housing.
He said that Mr. Ryan should talk to the directors of the AIDS Support
Group and Foley House. Mr. Knight said
that people living on a seasonal income cannot afford a mortgage and will have
to rent. Mr. Ryan said that they have
to deal with the existing inventory of homes also. Perhaps owners could be convinced to accept less for their
property in order to give back to the community. Keith Bergman said that there has been a building cap on new
construction since 1988 and building permits have been tied to creating
affordable housing. The program has not really been successful. He thought that
permits for change of use, such as converting a motel to condos, should also
include affordable housing. He said
that they had tested the concept a few years ago and most people seemed to be
against it. Mr. Bergman suggested that
if they were forced to include middle-income housing (as opposed to low
income), perhaps more people would be open to the idea. Howard Burchman said that it is hard for
guesthouse owners to make it now. He
thought that if the owners thought that they would get less out of their
property when it was sold, they would sell their property before the law went
through.
Keith Bergman said the sewer system is
also a factor in new developments. He
said that Shankpainter Road will be a good site for more properties. He said the infrastructure is critical in
thinking about affordable housing. Mr.
Bergman said that there is a real need for prioritization because they do not
have the resources to do all that they want to. He said that middle-income housing is difficult because they
cannot get grants for it. The Town must
devote its own resources in order to do it.
Elaine Anderson brought up the
discussion of what should be the CPC’s schedule for requesting applications for
projects. She said one alternative is
to have open enrollment all year long, even though applications could be
approved only at the Town Meetings once or twice a year. She asked for Mr. Ryan’s opinion. John Ryan said that they will have his
report in a couple of months. He said
that there must be an action plan so they know what they want to do and what
resources are available. He said that
there will have to be a lot of discussion and debate and everyone must
contribute in some way. The dynamics of
what is happening will not change in ten or fifteen years. Doug Taylor said that they should look at
long term goals for community development, perhaps tax relief incentives or
changes in zoning laws. Keith Bergman
said that they had passed an accessory apartment bylaw but no one has taken
advantage of it. Elaine Anderson agreed
with others that they must look at the long-term ramifications of whatever they
did. She said that the School Committee
is looking at five to ten year plans.
Mr. Bergman said that there is a clear link between affordable housing
and school enrollment. Mr. Ryan said
that he could help develop an action plan, but that is not what he has been
hired by the MHP to do. Mr. Bergman
said that the PHA and the PHP are planning to hire a housing specialist.
Elaine Anderson asked about a central
committee who would be the leaders for the housing situation. Keith Bergman said that the BOS hasn’t
decided and right now he is the contact person for the MHP and John Ryan. Howard Burchman asked about seeing previous
reports done by John Ryan. Mr. Ryan
said that they had been given three links to reports he has done for other
communities. Keith Bergman said that
Mr. Ryan will speak to Town Hall staff today.
Regarding the Pilgrim Monument project,
Elaine Anderson said that the Town Counsel is working on papers for the release
of the funds to the PMPM.
[At 10:15 the other attendees left the
meeting.]
PUBLIC STATEMENTS
There were none.
SET CALENDAR FOR CPC APPLICATIONS
Elaine Anderson said that perhaps they
should have a sub-committee to work on what they should do regarding
applications. She thought that they
needed more ideas on ways to handle the application process. Austin Knight said that they should have
John Ryan’s report in sixty days and it would be critical in determining where
they are going. Howard Burchman said
that they needed very specific guidelines for the applications. He said that they could have legal problems
if they turned down an application without specific reasons. Elaine Anderson said that they should look
at what other towns are doing and that they need to have a better idea of the
total picture. Steve Milkewicz
agreed. He said that there are many
problems and that they must decide what their focus should be. Mr. Milkewicz said that if they raise taxes
to help one group of people, others may be forced to leave town. Elaine Anderson said that it seemed that
they should wait until next spring for new applications. She said that they should focus on the
Shankpainter Road project and working with Mr. Ryan for now.
OTHER BUSINESS
Austin Knight said that there will be a
meeting on June 5th to discuss what should be done with the Town’s
surplus real estate. He said that the
Historic Commission might have funds which could be used for the exteriors of
some of the buildings. Elaine Anderson
said that Mona Anderson is interested in using Firehouse #2 for a gift shop to
raise funds for CPC projects. Austin
Knight said that the building is used by many non-profit groups to raise money,
but perhaps housing could be created upstairs.
He said the gift shop could be put in the firehouse near Bubala’s. Elaine Anderson suggested that a
representative from the CPC should go to the meeting. Mr. Knight said that the chair of the CPC could send a letter to
the meeting. He said that they could
suggest waiting for Mr. Ryan’s report before deciding what to do with the
buildings. Steve Milkewicz said that
many groups would like to use the buildings.
Elaine Anderson said that there seems to be a drive to sell the
properties. Howard Burchman said that
the properties may need to be sold because they are not in the best locations
for the needs of the Town.
Steve Milkewicz said that he had asked
the Director of the Library about using historic renovation funds to finish the
Library. He said she seemed hesitant to
ask the Town for more money. Elaine
Anderson said that there were historic funds left which could be used. She said that they would carry the
discussion on to the next agenda.
REVIEW OF MINUTES
MOTION: Move to approve the minutes of May 9th with a
minor change.
Motion by: Nancy Jacobsen Seconded by:
Steve Milkewicz Yea 3 Nay 0
Abstain 2 (HB, AK)
Elaine Anderson said that she had
informed the BOS of the motion at the last meeting concerning taking the
leadership role. The next meeting
will be on June 13, 2006. She said that
she thought that they should meet just once a month in July and August. The dates for upcoming meetings will be June
13th and 27th; July 11th; & August 8th. Other meetings would be arranged if
needed. She said that in September they
would return to their regular twice-monthly schedule.
MOTION: Move to adjourn the meeting at 10:45 a.m..
Motion by: Howard Burchman Seconded by:
Steve Milkewicz Yea 5 Nay 0
The meeting was adjourned at 10:45.